I have an 1989 325i and the ac and everything will just turn off on me. But when I go and push down on the fuses and relays, it will turn on but sometimes turn right off. I just want to get it fixed since I live in florida and its just too hot to be running around without a/c and hard for the fuel gauge not to work. please help!

The Bentley manual fuse list indicates it could be fuse 20 or 23, the fuel gage is on a separate curcuit and it might be fuse 12.
What you might do is clean each one and put some dielectric grease on the fuse blade connectors to keep the corrosion from getting worse. There are two relays that unload the electrical circuit when starting the car K5 and K7. The terminals on these might be bad or the relay itself might be bad. You could buy a new relay and swap out with those one at a time and see which makes a difference.

If just pushing down on the fuses restores things then it is likely you have corrosion on the connections in back of the fuse box. This is fairly common in cars that live in humid climates or by the ocean.
It may be nothing more than having to resolder the connections on the back or it could mean replacing one or more fuse clip terminals.

QuoteArcheo-peteriX
If just pushing down on the fuses restores things then it is likely you have corrosion on the connections in back of the fuse box. This is fairly common in cars that live in humid climates or by the ocean.
It may be nothing more than having to resolder the connections on the back or it could mean replacing one or more fuse clip terminals.

Bad contacts and corroded terminals are a pain to trace and repair.
Clean all the terminals and connectors you can get your hands on.
Get a diagram of the car wiring, and learn what goes where if you are inclined to solve this yourself.
Good luck!

Most corrosion products are not very soluable so a solvent based cleaner can only help a little. Some barrier fluid or paste like a dielectric grease will help if contact can be established and the grease will keep corrosion from getting in the joint.

Water is the enemy, it can corrode almost anything that gets any dirt on it.

A spray can of contact cleaner might help and it will do no harm. The dielectric grease comes in a small tube and will require some effort to find the contacts that need protection and smear some of it on each one. A spray can of WD-40 might do almost as much good temporarily but it will collect more dust eventually and has to be renewed. might make matters worse in the long run.

QuoteBob in Everett
A spray can of contact cleaner might help and it will do no harm. The dielectric grease comes in a small tube and will require some effort to find the contacts that need protection and smear some of it on each one. A spray can of WD-40 might do almost as much good temporarily but it will collect more dust eventually and has to be renewed. might make matters worse in the long run.

Basicly no spray can revert corroded or loose contacts, they can only help to some extent to keep moisture away and prevent good metal from corroding.
This a labor of patience, to check and clean fuses, contacts, terminals, relays, etc...
Get your spray, wire brush, sandpaper, and the wiring diagrams.
Moisture and saline weather is your enemy, hope you can park the car under cover to let it dry completely.

College students usually have a lot of spare time and frieds. Good luck!

QuoteBob in Everett
A spray can of contact cleaner might help and it will do no harm. The dielectric grease comes in a small tube and will require some effort to find the contacts that need protection and smear some of it on each one. A spray can of WD-40 might do almost as much good temporarily but it will collect more dust eventually and has to be renewed. might make matters worse in the long run.

Basicly no spray can revert corroded or loose contacts, they can only help to some extent to keep moisture away and prevent good metal from corroding.
This a labor of patience, to check and clean fuses, contacts, terminals, relays, etc...
Get your spray, wire brush, sandpaper, and the wiring diagrams.
Moisture and saline weather is your enemy, hope you can park the car under cover to let it dry completely.

College students usually have a lot of spare time and frieds. Good luck!

All good advice. You can add a can of spray air to your tools, it's very good as a portable compressor and also 180 grit white sandpaper to get in those tight places... Good Luck, Rick

Don't forget the barrel connector under the intake manifold always lots of stuff to clean in there.